Andrew Mwenda, Founder and Managing Editor, The Independent

Andrew Mwenda,one of Uganda's
leading political journalists, is managing editor of the bimonthly newsmagazine,
The Independent, based in the capital,
Kampala. A
press freedom advocate throughout his career, Mwenda founded The Independent in 2008 despite repeated
government harassment. Over the past decade, he
has been the target of threats, arrests, and criminal prosecutions for
his radio, television, and newspaper work.

Mwenda is among the few journalists
to openly criticize President Yoweri Museveni's spending practices and handling
of a rebel conflict in the country's north. Museveni's administration has a
record of using criminal laws and police intimidation to silence such critical
coverage.

In April 2008, plainclothes security
agents raided Mwenda's home and offices, arresting him on sedition charges
stemming from an Independent
interview with an army deserter who accused the military of human rights
abuses. In May, police summoned him again for questioning about three newspaper
stories and a broadcast commentary. In all, Mwenda is fighting 21 criminal
charges, including sedition and "promoting sectarianism," some of which date
back to 2000. He has challenged the constitutionality of the charges.

Mwenda has addressed the World Bank
and Transparency International about the need to reform Western aid to Africa, and he has produced documentaries and commentary
for the BBC on economic empowerment. He is a 2007 Knight Fellow and the
recipient of several national awards.

Andrew Mwenda launched The Independent after
resigning as political editor from his previous post at The Monitor.Arguing thatthe government had
compromised the editorial freedom of The Monitor, Mwenda's own
publication provides a candid and critical approach.

In 2005, Mwenda wrote an article for the BBC entitled "Africans on Africa: Debt."Mwenda's thought-provoking piece argues that "[f]oreign aid does not
help the poor out of their misery - it exacerbates their problems and prolongs
their agony."